I really need to finalize what major I’m going to do as both have different first-year requirements. It’s between Biomedical and Chemical Engineering… I love Biology AND Chemistry. I love math too. Biomed seems to have more credits and summer courses involved. Which, OVERALL, is a better major to do…
Talk to an academic advisor at your college.
Do you want to go to grad school or straight into industry?
What requirements are different? Usually engineering is somewhat the same the first year…how difficult would it be to change majors once you see how you like Chemistry /Bio in college?
Is there any way to major in one and minor in another? Just pick one; changing majors is commons. If you are qualified for both, I would chose the one that is more difficult to enter as my major. As a strategy…I would compare the two majors isto see which courses overlap and register for those. That way I wouldn’t get too behind if I decide to change majors later.
You could ask around and see whether at that particular school one or the other has better professors. I think having to take courses in the summer is a pretty big disadvantage, ideally you would want to being doing internships, working in labs and making connections that will make it easier once you graduate.
At my daughter’s undergrad they called BME majors “Business Majors Eventually”
It had a reputation for being super hard without a lot of pay off job wise. Also I have heard that you need a masters to be competitive the the job market for it.
Keep in mind that this info is anecdotal -but may be worth looking into to see if what I have heard is correct. B-)
I started out in chemical engineering because I loved chemistry. I didn’t think there was much chemistry involved in the major. More classes were about fluid dynamics and transport phenomena. Some schools roll biomedical and chemical engineering into one program and they only split apart before junior year. I majored in materials science which involved more chemistry. You definitely want to spend your summers in an internship and not at school. No practical work experience would make it difficult to land a job after graduation.
That BME is pretty funny! It seems biomedical engineering has been the hot program for quite a few years now but the outcomes don’t seems particularly clear.
I’ve seen kids pick more expensive and less prestigious/rigorous colleges in order to major in BME vs. a better and more rigorous and cheaper degree in mechanical engineering. Which is absurd.
Beware of nomenclature, OP. Take a look at the actual courses, where kids in the programs have ended up in the last couple of years. Don’t choose the sizzle over the steak.
Biomedical engineering isn’t anywhere similar to MechE though.
@snowfairy137 Biomedical jobs can be gotten with chemical, mechanical, and electrical engineering degrees, depending on the exact field. They’re not the same but they overlap.
Job requirements from random biomedical jobs found on Indeed:
Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering REQUIRED Master’s Degree in Mechanical, Biomechanical or Biomedical Engineering REQUIRED
BS in Engineering. Clinical Engineering certification desirable.
BS degree in Biomedical Engineering or other related engineering field.
Bachelor’s degree in a relevant engineering discipline
Mechanical Engineering degree
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or Biomedical Engineering
A lot of bme students choose this major with the intention of going to med school.
There is a need for physician innovators.
ChemE is usually more difficult than BioMedE.
What are your reasons for either major?
What are the differences in the first year requirements? Typical freshmen engineering curricula include Calc, a combination of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. and non-science courses to meet the school’s core requirements. I would think that at most you might have a single course difference between the two tracks. Even then, you might not have to make that choice until the Spring semester (I’m assuming you’re entering this Fall).
@bodangles Mechanical Engineers are taking classes like Electromagnetism and Thermodynamics while BMEs are taking things like Organic Chem, Bio and Bioengineering classes. From the job search it might seem like BME might be better as a masters and that may be true, idk. The point is, you seem to learn widely different things in each degree, and they are not the same. For a physics minded person who hates bio, like me, MechE is probably better, but for someone who likes biology and not physics as much, maybe not so much.
OP: I don’t know much about either, but judging from the jobs posted by bodangles chemical engineering might be a better choice.
I don’t understand where you’re getting this. Half of them specifically ask for mechanical.